Artist Spotlight - Tenor Jonathan Hanley

Jonathan Hanley is tenor soloist in our upcoming performance of Handel, Vivaldi and Hadyn at the York Early Music Christmas Festival.  Jonathan is a lay clerk at Peterborough Cathedral and pursues both a choral and solo singing career. Over the last year, he has been a member of the prestigious Genesis Sixteen programme for young singers. As a soloist, Jonathan has performed with a number of ensembles, including appearances at the Trame Sonore Chamber Music Festival in Mantua, the Malcolm Arnold Festival, and the Beverley and York Early Music Festivals. Recent repertoire has included Handel Saul and Messiah, Schütz St John Passion, Bach Magnificat, Haydn Creation, Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Monteverdi 1610 Vespers, Malcolm Arnold Song of Simeon, and Beethoven 9th Symphony. He has appeared as a recitalist in programmes of English song and lieder across the country. He is a soloist on a forthcoming CD of Humfrey Verse Anthems with Edward Higginbottom and the Instruments of Time and Truth. Jonathan currently studies with Richard Edgar Wilson.

We began by asking Jonathan to tell us a bit more about performing with Yorkshire Bach Choir...

I started singing with Yorkshire Bach Choir in my first year at university, way back in 2011, and have really enjoyed returning to York to join them since moving to Peterborough 2 years ago. They’re always programmes of fantastic music performed with style and conviction, and it’s really wonderful to come back and perform with such a dedicated and fun bunch!

I’m guessing you’ve sung some of the repertoire before, what do you interests you about this particular piece?

I love all of the music in the programme but the Handel is a particular favourite. I love the Italian influences and its virtuosity – it’s physically thrilling to sing. What I find most interesting about the piece is variety of different choral writing – particularly the semiquaver figures in ‘secundum ordinem Melchisedech’ and the ‘conquasabit’ with all its repeated crotchets. I also think the ‘de torrente’ is one of the most stunning pieces of music. I do think he could’ve added in an extra tenor solo though!

Detail of Handel statue by Louis-François Roubiliac

 What is the hardest thing about performing?

I think the hardest thing about performing is finding the balance between thinking about technique, stagecraft, expression and communication. It’s easy to get wrapped up in one thing, a particular text, for example, which makes the other things slip to the back of your mind - maybe the secret is to have them slip only half way!

Is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet but would like to?

There are three things that I would love to sing before I die (!) which are the Evangelist in the Bach St John Passion, Elgar Gerontius and Britten St Nicolas – I was Baby St Nicolas as a chorister and I can remember thinking as I stepped down from the pulpit where I had been singing to let St Nicolas on for the end of the movement that I wanted to sing it.

Who is the composer (dead or alive) that you’d most like to meet?

Benjamin Britten.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

I don’t know whether I should be that guilty about it, but every Christmas, I have to listen to ‘Messiah – a Soulful Celebration’. If you don’t know it, have a listen! 

Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration (Various artists)

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?

Probably in the kitchen or watching my latest Netflix obsession.

How do you mostly listen to music?

I’m always plugged into my iPhone when I’m on the move, and have a really good Bose speaker at home which I’m sure annoy my neighbours.

If you hadn’t become a musician, what other job would you have liked to do?

I went to university originally intending to do a law conversion after my history degree, and I think I would enjoy being a lawyer and arguing for a living!

Who would play you in the film of your life?

I have no idea, but I would like to think it would be Jude Law!

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

As a History graduate, this is an extremely difficult question to answer, but as a medievalist I think I would have to go back to fifteenth-century Europe, but I couldn’t be more specific than that – there would be too much to see!
  

We look forward to hearing Jonathan as tenor soloist in Handel Dixit Dominus and Haydn Nelson Mass with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists conducted by Peter Seymour. Vocal soloists include Bethany Seymour, Wendy Goodson (Sopranos), Nancy Cole (Mezzo Soprano) & Frederick Long (Bass).  The programme also includes Vivaldi Gloria.

The concert takes place on Saturday 9 December 7.30pm at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York.

The concert is part of the York Early Music Festival.

A handful of final tickets for the concert are available in advance via bit.ly/YBCXmas 

Artist Spotlight - Violinist Lucy Russell

 
Lucy Russell is among the most distinguished of international violinists who has now led the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists for several years. She has achieved eminence on both historical instruments and their ‘modern’ counterparts, performing and recording music from Monteverdi to the present day with equal distinction and authority. She became leader of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet in 1995; with them she has played all over Europe, North America, South Africa, Canada and Israel as well as making recordings for Linn Records, Divine Art Records, the BBC and various foreign radio stations. The quartet plays on both modern and historical set ups and will be recording late Beethoven String Quartets on heavy gut for Linn this Autumn. In addition to Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, Lucy is much in demand as Leader of several Early Music orchestras and has worked in this capacity for such as The King’s Consort, Classical Opera Company, Dunedin Consort, and she has also been a key player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.  She has made numerous recordings over the years as an orchestral and chamber player and regularly teams up with Rachel Podger with her own ensemble, Brecon Baroque. 
 
Tell us a bit more about performing in York with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists: 
I was a student when I first had the opportunity to play with YBS. I must have been fairly clueless and 'green' but I cut my teeth on some of the very best repertoire. It's been about 3 decades now since I first played and I think I can only have been unavailable to play with the group for only one or two concerts! We've  played abroad, recorded and done what most successful outfits do but most importantly, we are a tight knit bunch who cherish making music together and enjoying each other's company!
 

Lucy Russell

You've recently recorded J.S Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord with John Butt what was your experience of recording such a cornerstone of the repertoire?    
Recording the Bach Violin Sonatas was the mission of a lifetime!  I started to dabble with these works whilst still a student at York and had always been drawn to them but to finally record them was a dream come true. They offer the best of Bach - they encompass Bach the cerebral, the human being, the profound, the emotional, the jazzy. It's all there and playing with John was a 'hand in glove' experience and a lot of fun too!
 
Do you plan any similar projects? 
I'm into CPE Bach (one of Bach's sons) and Beethoven and I'd love to record these sonatas some day. Maybe also Mozart.....how long have I got?!!

As a youngster, did you ever have a eureka moment listening to or performing a certain piece of music? 
I've had so many eureka moments whilst listening to music/playing music that it's hard to single out any particular one. As a youngster, performing Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances fuelled my passion for the great romantic composers. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Verdi's Requiem also blew my mind. I think I'm very fortunate to have these kind of moments on a regular basis and as leader of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, this can happen on an almost daily basis - Beethoven late quartets spring to mind.......Thank goodness for Music!
 

Lucy leading Yorkshire Baroque Soloists rehearsing Haydn Creation

If you could travel in a musical time machine to experience a certain period or era in history where and when would you travel to?
I'd have loved to meet Haydn. His music, like that of Bach, appeals to me for all the same reasons I quote above.  He is a three-dimensional composer and his imagination, humour, pathos etc seemingly endless. Hugely respected by Beethoven and Mozart, to name but two, he had a profound influence on his contemporaries and beyond yet I think he'd have been more fun to hang out with in the Bier Keller than either of his aforementioned grumpy or flighty chums!
 
What is your musical guilty pleasure?

Lucy with the Fitzwilliam String Quartet

Mainstream jazz or Bruckner symphonies listened to at home with no lights on!

How do you relax?
Inventing new ways to incorporate yet more garlic or chilli into my cooking. And practising yoga!
 
What would your super power be?
To ensure a permanent state of world peace.
 
What is your most treasured possession?
Life itself.
 
What keeps you awake at night?
The music I'm currently working on!

We look forward to hearing Lucy lead the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists in JS Bach Easter Oratorio (BWV 249), Bach Mass in G minor (BWV 235) and Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11).   The concert will take place in St Michael le Belfrey, York on Saturday 12 March and further details on the concert and how to buy tickets can be found at: bit.ly/YBach

You can find more information on Lucy and the Fitzwilliam string quartet at http://www.fitzwilliamquartet.org. Details of her first solo CD of Bach’s Obbligato Violin Sonatas with John Butt can be found on the Linn Records website.

Artist Spotlight - Trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins

Crispian Steele-Perkins

Crispian Steele-Perkins is unquestionably one of the worlds most renowned trumpeters. His biography reads like the resume of several musicians as opposed to a singular trumpeter. The list of singers, classical and popular, that he has appeared with is remarkable including Kiri te Kanawa, Emma Kirkby, John Tomlinson, Bryn Terfel, Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush, Cliff Richard, Bob Geldof and Harry Secombe.  This list reflects an eclectic career that includes performing repertoire from Handel to Glenn Miller; Crispian can, for instance, be heard playing on the soundtracks of over 80 films from Jaws to The Life of Brian. He is treasured by fans of early music for his appearances with groups such as The Academy of Ancient Music, The Kings Consort and The English Baroque Soloists. Ahead of his appearance playing Bach with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and Yorkshire Bach Choir on Saturday 12 March we caught up with Crispian to ask him some questions about his music making and life. 

I’m guessing you’ve performed the Easter and Ascension Oratorios before, tell us more about how Bach writes for the trumpet in these particular pieces.
Bach never writes for the trumpet in the same way twice unless re-using material.  These two are amongst my favorites and I never cease to be amazed at the technical virtuosity that his players must have achieved at the time.

As a trumpeter, what are your 'Desert Island' pieces?
Maybe Hummel's Concerto in the correct key of E (not Eb) but I don't think there is yet a 100% satisfactory version on record.

What do you enjoy most about performing in York?
I like working with Peter Seymour and enjoy working with a fairly set team of excellent musicians. Nice audiences too !

Eddie Calvert 'Oh My Papa'

Is there any piece of music or repertoire that you haven’t had the opportunity to perform?
No. I love Handel's 'Occasional Oratorio' which rarely gets performed though.

As a youngster, did you ever have a eureka moment listening to or performing a certain piece of music?
As a 69 year old youngster I heard a Rumanian Gypsy Band - Eureka indeed !

What was the first ever record you bought?
'Oh My Papa' Eddie Calvert - 'The man with the golden trumpet'-

Who is the composer (dead or alive) that you’d most like to meet? 
Haydn

What do you sing in the shower? 
I HATE showers and I can't sing for toffees.

What is your most treasured possession? 
An Antique Trumpet (several)

[Here is a gallery of Crispian's instruments on his personal website]

Crispian and one of his motorbikes

You're in a karaoke bar and (voluntarily or non-voluntarily) you have to sing or perform, what would you sing? 
I would have pity on the public and keep silent.

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to
spend your time? 

Motorbikes......






We look forward to hearing Crispian in the exhilarating trumpet-led choruses of JS Bach Easter Oratorio (BWV 249) and Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11).  The concert will also include Bach Mass in G minor (BWV 235).  

The concert will take place in St Michael le Belfrey, York on Saturday 12 March and further details on the concert and how to buy tickets can be found at: bit.ly/YBach

Further details on Crispian can be found on his website: http://www.crispiansteeleperkins.com/ 

Artist spotlight - Soprano Bethany Seymour

Our soprano soloist for our upcoming December performance of Haydn Creation is Bethany Seymour.  Bethany pursues a successful career as a solo and consort singer throughout Northern Europe. Bethany sings regularly with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists with whom she has sung soprano solo on three recordings for Signum Records: Bach St John Passion, Bach B minor Mass and Bach St Matthew Passion.  Recent concert engagements include Mozart Requiem and Exulatate Jubilate, Purcell Dido and Aeneas and CPE Bach Du Göttlicher.

 

I began by asking Bethany about The Creation. There is a huge part for the soprano soloist and I wanted to know some more about her thoughts on the piece:

For the soprano soloist the music of Creation is a gift which above all gives you the wonderful opportunity to soar vocally.  I love the expansive musical lines and all the expressive things that Haydn asks you to do, for instance, the imitation of birdsong when ‘cooing’. I also get to be two different characters (Gabriel and Eve) which is great.  With both characters you get to interact not only with other soloists but with the choir too.  I particularly love the moment in ‘The Lord is great’ where I weave my voice around the choir ornamenting what they have just sung.  That kind of moment is really exhilarating.  

You performed as a soloist with Yorkshire Baroque soloists in concerts and recordings tell us a bit more about what it is like to sing with them.

When performing with other orchestras it is difficult know what to expect. Performing with YBS is like coming home from a long journey because I know all the players and I feel supported and part of the team.  If I choose to react to the music 'in the moment' and do an extra ornament or change my speed they will come with me. This means I can take more risks as a performer.  

Is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet but would like to?

I’ve always wanted to sing in a staged Handel opera. The arias are so exciting and there are lots of arias for impassioned and strong female characters. A role that I’m particularly drawn to is Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare as you get the opportunity to be a truly three dimensional operatic character.  Cleopatra has a huge range of emotions.  She is angry and empowered for all the right reasons.  It is clear from the music that Handel understood the singers and voices that he wrote for.

Which living musician do you most admire?

I’ve always admired Emma Kirkby.  First and foremost because she created her own sound. When she began to make recordings and sing in the public eye she had the strength and foresight to sing in a way that she saw as correct for the music whether it was Mozart or Hildegard. I’ve grown up listening to her sing in a variety of repertoire and she

Bethany pictured with Emma Kirkby and Stephen Varcoe

always captures people’s attention. Audiences want to hear the ‘Emma Kirby’ sound. If you talk to Emma about singing she always encourages you to sing with what you have been given naturally.

What was your worst musical experience?

When asked to do some newly composed music at university I was asked to stand in a bucket of leaves and improvise random notes with no assistance in terms of finding pitches or ideas. Whilst I’m always up for a challenge, I couldn't see how this created a musical experience and with nothing to grasp on to there was no meaning.  Worst of all there was no opportunity to connect with other musical performers which is something I enjoy. Having said all that I still enjoy performing modern music, most especially music that reworks old ideas (such as Steve Reich or Max Richter) or other composers who are more original (such as Eric Whitacre). 

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
From mid-November essential listening for me is Christmas with the Rat Pack.  I love the individual singers and the sheer warmth that comes across in their singing. 

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for young singers / musicians?

You can never stop learning.  No matter how much perform or who you’ve performed with there is always more to learn from each musical experience.

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?

I love cooking especially as this gives an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. I have a huge library of cookbooks.  Friends and family might describe it as a slight obsession. But despite that, I’m not a slave to the cookery book as I enjoy to add my own flavours and love growing my own herbs. 

What would your superpower be?

I think JS Bach seemed to think that all singers had a third lung so that would useful for all those long phrases…..

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Frank Sinatra, French & Saunders (do I get pick a comedy duo?), Benedict Cumberbatch and J.S. Bach.

We look forward to hearing Bethany singing  in what will certainly be a popular performance of Haydn’s great masterpiece with Yorkshire Bach Choir, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists alongside a stellar lineup of soloists.

Tickets are selling fast and are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/YBCreation 
 
The York Early Music Festival runs from 4-12 December 2015 and further details can be found here: http://www.ncem.co.uk/xmas

Further details on Bethany Seymour can be found on her website: http://www.bethanyseymour.co.uk/

Introduction to our new concert series 2015/16

YBC have already started rehearsing for the first concert of what promises to be another fantastic year of music-making in York.  This year our programme of concerts covers a huge range of  composers and musical epochs including Allegri, Byrd, Tallis, Gesualdo, Bairstow, Wood, Harris, Haydn, Victoria, Vaughan Williams, Howells, Tippett, Finzi, Monteverdi, Croce, Clinio and, of course, J.S. Bach!

In an exciting new venture we will open our season on the 31 October 2015 with a concert entitled ‘Blessed City: Lamentations and Light’ which is part of the Illuminating York Festival.  Taking place on All Hallow’s Eve (‘Halloween’) our concert will hopefully be a musical counterpoint to the amazing light installations going on around the city. The theme of our concert takes some of our inspiration from Nayan Kulkarni’s ‘Three Graces’ installation which will see  flickering candles appear outside St Michael le Belfrey projected from the building's lantern.

Projection of Nayan Kulkarni's 'Three Graces' outside St Michael le Belfrey

The atmosphere in York over the evenings of the festival is always particularly special as thousands of people come into the city centre to see the illuminations. This atmosphere will transfer into the calm interior of St Michael le Belfrey where, beginning in semi-darkness, our programme will range from the renowned Allegri: Miserere written for Sistine Chapel in Rome, to the tortured and harmonically audacious music of Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responses.  

The second half which focus on the English music of Thomas Tallis with the majestic sonorities of his two Lamentation settings before a switch to the more late Romantic and twentieth century sound world of Edward Bairstow, Charles Wood and William Harris.  The Lamentation by Bairstow will be of particular interest to York audiences as it was written during the Second World War for the Dean of York Minster and has a wonderful, haunting simplicity. The concert ends in uplifting fashion with the golden, sumptuous harmonies of William Harris: Faire is the Heaven and the ecstatic glow of Charles Wood: Hail Gladdening Light.


By coincidence, the birth of light is a notable in the iconic opening of our second concert of the season as we perform Haydn’s celebrated Creation as part of the York Early Music Festival on Saturday 5 December at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall (University of York).  2016 begins with a programme of Victoria motets and psalms on 6 February and continues the mouthwatering opportunity on 12 March to hear three separate JS Bach masterpieces (Easter & Ascension Oratorios & Mass in G minor).  Spring continues with a programme of Songs and Elegies of the English Romantics (including music by Vaughan Williams, Howells, Finzi and Tippett) on 7 May and our final summer concert on 18 June finds brings Italian sunshine with a concert featuring the music of Monteverdi and Croce. The music of Giovanni Croce and Teodoro Clinio is specially edited for this concert and it seems that this will be the first time since the 17th century that much of the music will have been heard.   

 
Full details of ticket prices and season subscriptions can be found on our website. Alongside the usual reduced prices for full and concessionary seasons ticket holders those under 30 can for the first time this year take advantage of our Under 30s Season ticket which allows access to all six concerts for just £60.

All our concerts (except for the December concert of Creation at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall) are performed in the glorious surroundings of St Michael le Belfrey a historic church which is right in the heart of York beside York Minster.

The opening concert Blessed City: Lamentations and Light takes places at St Michael le Belfrey York and starts at 7.30pm on Saturday 20 June. Tickets priced at £18 (£16 concessions) are available here or on the door.


YBC Concert reminder service: http://bit.ly/1nbRxIJ

Contact details:
Twitter: @YorksBachChoir 
Facebook: Yorkshire Bach Choir
Email: marketing@yorkshirebachchoir.org

Artist Spotlight - Conductor Peter Seymour

Peter Seymour

Our associate ensemble the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists have just released a new recording of J.S. Bach St Matthew Passion BWV 244b (Early version).  To co-incide with this event we spotlight our conductor Peter Seymour.  In the interview he talks in detail the new recording which uses an edition of an early version of the work prepared by Peter himself. The recording is released by Signum Records and took place at York's National Centre for Early Music using solo voices - one voice per part - in place of the usual choral forces.  The interview gives us insight into his long running association with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and also touches on some of Peter's interests beyond Bach.     

This is Peter's first recording of the Matthew Passion but he has performed the work on countless ocassion with various groups.  I began by asking him why he keeps returning to this particular work: 
As with all great music, there is always something new to find to make it worthwhile and rewarding to perform them again and again. Sometimes this is new performing information; sometimes it is having to, or choosing to, find different solo teams (both vocal and instrumental) and seeing how they respond one-to-another. When we performed it live last year, the performance was considerably longer than our usual length and that brought a new perspective to the piece.

For this particular occasion you record and early version of the work (BMV 244b) which it is thought was performed on Good Friday.  What do you think a typical audience member could have expected as they walked into ‘Bach’s’ church on that particular day?

New recording released by Signum Records

Bach must already have amazed his performers and listeners in the first 12 months of his time at Leipzig. Pieces such as Magnificat and St John Passion, both composed in his first year there, would have presented a considerable musical challenge to the performers - though one I’m sure they could meet. His audience wouldn’t have heard anything like it, nothing with the vivid and colourful orchestration of Magnificat nor the sustained (operatic) drama of St Join Passion. So, two years after his first passion setting, they would have perhaps expected something special but perhaps nothing on the scale of the St Matthew either in its use of double choir and orchestra nor the sheer length of the piece. The decision to record Bach’s early version came from strong encouragement to do so from our principal oboist Tony Robson who had performed it in London earlier in the year. It wasn’t just for novelty value but also to hear some versions not usually heard such as Bach’s use of lute in the bass aria “Komm, süsses Kreuz” and a bass soloist for the opening aria/chorus of the 2nd part.

As a conductor, how do you approach a long day of recording?
The most important matter for me is the preparation. In this case there had to be not only the usual detailed recording schedule in order to use the time effectively and economically but before that I had had to spend 8 weeks editing the music from scratch. That was a wonderful learning time! I had to consider many matters - how accurate was the manuscript; how much did Bach edit the music in rehearsal and performance; the manuscript is a hurried version so what performance presumptions must Bach have made for the 1727 performance; how many of the changes made in his fair copy (written 9 years later when he had time to make more clear his expectations) would have been incorporated into the early version as a matter of course?

Did anything notable happen during recording sessions for this particular disc?
We all had to re-assess considerable questions - few of the singers had sung all the choruses one voice per part. Hearing the lute obbligato was an exciting moment and made us realise still more clearly what were Bach’s dynamic boundaries. In this early version there is no indication of what instruments should play in the chorales and so we decided to do some with voices and organ only; we’ve never tried that before and it was quite a revelation.
 
What is special about recording with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists?
YBS has been performing both Passions, B minor Mass, Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio on a regular basis since the later 1970s; we have had the same principals since the mid-1980s so they have a familiarity with not only what I’m aiming for but also with one another’s playing. They have a very strong appreciation of one another’s playing abilities and styles so our individual and collective understanding of the pieces has matured over these years. The parts have been edited over those years too - even Bach’s fair copies expect many decisions of articulation, rhythmic alteration, ornamentation and so on; we have developed a consistent style. One notable area in St Matthew Passion is the role of the chorales - so often delivered without expression - where Bach sets false accents (i.e. on weak beats) to draw attention to important words and syllables. Another important area has been in the use of appoggiaturas in the recitatives; over the last few years we have developed a clear policy (based, of course, on primary source information) as to how the Evangelist, Christus and Pilate deal with these and it makes many telling points - Pilate’s comment/question setting up the structural centre of the piece, the soprano recitative (Er hat uns allen wohlgetan) and aria (‘Aus Liebe’).
 
What is the hardest thing about performing the Matthew Passion?
Performers of a piece so well known and loved have a duty, the privilege, to represent as faithfully and clearly as they can (at that time) what Bach expects. The line of responsibility from lyricist (St Matthew/Picander) to composer to performer to listener has to be clear and faithful at each point. In some ways the hardest thing is knowing that our understanding will change (although that’s also a very exciting thought!) and we are saying that what we record is our understanding at that moment.
 
Do you have a favorite moment/section of the piece?
The structural centre of the piece - the soprano recitative (Er hat uns allen wohlgetan) and aria (‘Aus Liebe’) - is a very moving moment. Bach makes it quite clear that it’s the principal message of this Passion by his structural chiasmus, by Pilate’s ‘rhetorical’ question, by his orchestration; the recitative states:” He has done good to us all. He gave the blind sight, the lame to walk…other than that, he has done nothing." The aria explains: “My Saviour is willing to die for love.”
 
Moving on from the recording, is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform/record yet but would like to?
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio would complete a very satisfying collection, having recorded both Passions and B minor Mass, essentially with the same performers. Also, Haydn’s great choral works, Creation, The Seasons and the wonderful late masses offer fantastic challenges but enormous satisfaction!
 

Peter in rehearsal with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists

Which living musician do you most admire?
There’s no individual I would wish to highlight but a large number of those I most admire have appeared on these Bach recordings. That is one of the great privileges of being the groups’ director (Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and Yorkshire Bach Choir); being able to choose what you perform with whom is an enormous privilege and honour. 
 
Who is the composer (dead or alive) that you’d most like to meet?
Well Bach has to be up there. I’d like to know more of what he was trying to communicate. But I would probably enjoy Haydn’s humour and life-affirming faith; a piece such as Creation (which YBS/YBC is performing in December 2015) offers more enjoyment to every player and singer and therefore the audience than any other.
 
What is your musical guilty pleasure?
I’d love to conduct La Bohème - or sing solo tenor (Rodolfo) - I regularly listen to and conduct Karajan’s recording (with Pavarotti and Mirella Freni) and they seem to follow my beat very easily...
 
What’s your earliest memory of music?
Singing songs in a car with my family but, more importantly, having piano lessons from the age of seven with a great teacher who talked of very little other than expression.
 
If you hadn’t become a musician, what other job would you have liked to do?
A cricketer.
 
What living person do you admire the most?
Geoffrey Boycott.
 
What keeps you awake at night?
Not much, but if I wake up I do worry that everyone will turn up for the rehearsals and concert. 

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
1972 when Yvonne and I got married and we were starting our careers, but only if I could know what I know now.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Bach, Handel, Haydn, Yvonne and the rest of my family.

The new recording is available to buy or preview from the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists website and from Signum Records.  It can also be downloaded via iTunes. Later in this year Peter directs the Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists in a performance of Dido and Aeneas on Saturday 20 June at St Michael le Belfrey York.

Artist spotlight - Bass-Baritone Jamie Wright

 

Jamie Wright

Our second featured artist for our forthcoming concert of Mozart and Haydn is Bass-Baritone Jamie Wright.  Jamie is also a graduate from the University of York and alumni of Yorkshire Bach Choir.  Recently awarded a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music he continues to study singing whilst singing with a number of ensembles. Jamie will be appearing in our performance of Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass as the bass soloist.



I began by asking Jamie to tell me a bit more about performing with Yorkshire Bach Choir:
Without a doubt, Bach Choir is one of the things about York I am most grateful for. While studying singing, it is easy to focus so much on future goals and to forget the reasons you decided to pursue it in the first place. Solo work is of course wonderful but there is a special something about performing fantastic music with a large group of people. It was that shared enjoyment and passion that really inspired me the most. I learnt a lot in my time in YBC, and am enourmously thankful for it.

I’m guessing you’ve performed Mozart Requiem before, what do you interests you about this particular piece?
I absolutely love the Mozart Requiem, It’s one of those pieces that you feel you can always go back to and find something you hadn’t caught before. Its a piece of core repertoire for a reason and its going anywhere any time soon, and as a first entry into a piece, not much beats the 'Tuba Mirum' for the Bass (Just as long as its not too slow!).

What do you most enjoy about performing in York?
It's a beautiful city and always a lovely place to come back to. The people are so much more friendly than in London too!

Musically, when have you felt the happiest?
Theres always that buzz when you first see an audience which is amazing. But I think for young singers it is so highly competitive, and easy to worry about whether your voice is ‘good enough’ or ‘in the right place’. When you step back and really just enjoy the music, special things happen and you can really connect with it without being hampered by anything else. My absolute favourite performances have been those when I can really clear my head and simply make the best music I can.

Who is the composer that you’d most like to meet?
J.S.Bach

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
A mixture of Classic Rock (Led Zeppelin mostly!) and electronic music.

Which leads me nicely into asking, which non-classical musician would you love to work with?
One of the great guitarists, Jimmy Hendrix or Jimmy Page I think. (We could have a trio called the three Jimmies!) They were the sort of performers who really understood the music they were making, I think popular music is missing that far more now.

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?
It’s easy to let singing take up every spare minute, particularly as a postgraduate. I love photography and its great to take a step back with something else that’s still creative.

How do you mostly listen to music?
Spotify. I know its hardly a great model of fairness for musicians but having that amount of music at your fingertips really is so invaluable, as a performer and just for something to get me through a long train journey! If theres music I know I will always listen to I will always download it or buy the CD.

What is your most treasured possession?
Embarrassingly, my phone. I use it for everything when I’m on the go.

If you hadn’t become a musician, what other job would you have liked to do?
Difficult one, I think as long as there is creativity involved I would be happy, I can’t imagine me doing anything behind a desk for too long! I did want to be a fighter-pilot for a long time, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough.

What keeps you awake at night?
Usually lines from whatever I’m learning at the time.

What would your super power be?
To be able to fly. (I’d save a lot on train fares.)

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Stephen Fry, John Cleese, Stephen Hawking, Meryl Streep and Boris Johnson

We look forward to hearing Jamie singing alongside other soloists Wendy Goodson (Soprano), Nancy Cole (Alto) & Jason Darnell (Tenor) in Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists on Saturday 14 March at 7.30pm at St Michael le Belfrey, York. 

Tickets are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/1B5i263
 
Further details on Jamie can be found on his website: http://www.jamie-wright.co.uk/ 

Artist spotlight - Alto Nancy Cole

Nancy Cole

Nancy is the alto soloist for our forthcoming performance of Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass on Saturday 14 March. Originally from Lancashire, she is an alumni of Yorkshire Bach Choir and former music student at the University of York.  Now studying at the Royal College of Music she features as a soloist in a brand new recording of Bach with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists for Signum Records.


We begain by discussing the Mozart Requiem and Nancy commented:     It's a piece clouded in mystery! It's fascinating to think that Mozart never heard the final work as it was left incomplete by his early death. It certainly heightens the drama and the passion. I have sung it many times, and it remains one of my very favourites.

Tell me more about your time in York...
I studied here for two years and so it's always wonderful to return. It's such a welcoming place to come back to. Each time I come back it never feels like I've been away that long. And not a tube in sight!

What is the hardest thing about performing?
After all the preparations, the best thing you can do in performance is trust you know what your doing, not think too much and really enjoy the sensation of performing. Sometimes that can be the most difficult thing, but can lead to the best performances.

Is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet but would like to?
I would love to perform the Sea Pictures with full orchestra one day. I've sung them with piano in the practice room but unleashing them with an Orchestra would be amazing.

Which living musician do you most admire?
I think Bryn Terfel is a fantastic personality. I love the way he sings classical music with such energy. He sings such a versatile amount of music, not just classical, without every compromising quality.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
Music theatre. I've seen Wicked four times. 

Which non-classical musician would you love to work with?
I love folk music and how atmospheric it is. Dan Tyminski is one of my favourite artists - such a fantastic voice and spirit. 

When you’re not practicing or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?
After having resisted for many years, I like to exercise. Particularly with friends, like planning cycle trips or runs with obstacles...a group of us conquered a 'tough guy race' last year. And going to the theatre.

What keeps you awake at night?
Usually fragmented words of songs I'm learning going through my head. It can get very complicated in there.

What would your super power be?
The ability to remember everything you ever learnt.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Damien Lewis, Beyoncé, Joyce DiDonato, Emila Fox & Stephen Sondheim

We look forward to hearing Nancy singing alongside other soloists Wendy Goodson (Soprano), Jason Darnell (Tenor) & Jamie Wright (Bass) in Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists on Saturday 14 March at 7.30pm at St Michael le Belfrey, York.
 
Tickets are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/1B5i263
 
Further details on Nancy Cole can be found on her website: www.nancyceciliacole.com
 
Nancy features on the new recording of JS Bach’s early version (1727) of St Matthew Passion (BWV 244b) which has just been released by Signum Records further details can be found here: Details of new recording

Introducing the YBC Concert Series 2014/15

YBC Concert Series 2014/15

Rehearsals began in earnest last Friday for our 36th Season of concerts and once again it promises to be a vintage year of singing. Our season will encompass a range of music from cornerstones of the choral repertoire - like Handel: Messiah & Mozart: Requiem - to a focus on Tudor music including some rarely heard pieces by Taverner, Byrd and Sheppard.  

By kind permission of All Hallows, Walkington. Harry Harvey 1970

We launch our concert series on Saturday 1 November with a choral blockbuster in the form of Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis. For the singer, Spem is the kind of piece that is so good that you when you get to the end you want to go back to the beginning and sing it all over again.  Well, we hope it is the same for the listener so we will perform it twice; once at the beginning of the concert and once at the end.  We will even perform it in two different formations culminating in the ultimate surround sound experience.  Alongside Spem we mark All Saints Day with some motets in Byrd’s most vigorous polyphonic style including the extrovert ‘Laudibus in Sanctis’ (Byrd’s colourful setting of Psalm 150). In a more contemplative vein will be Byrd’s evergreen Mass for Four Voices which ends with the tranquillity of his sublime setting of ‘Dona Nobis’. The concert will be the first of two exploring music for Tudors.

Turning to the rest of the season, December will bring Messiah featuring an acclaimed line up of soloists as part of the York Early Music Christmas Festival.  No season would be complete without music by J.S. Bach, and we begin 2015 performing his motets, along with those of other members of the Bach family, will be the focus of a February concert. As well as accompanying us for Messiah, the verve and precision of the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists will join us in March for Mozart’s Requiem performed alongside Haydn’s joyous Theresienmesse. Following this, in May the second part of our Tudor survey gives a rare chance to hear another two masterpieces of the English Renaissance as we perform Taverner’s Gloria tibi Trinitas and the unique, beautiful In Media Vita by anniversary composer John Sheppard which opens with the haunting words ‘in the midst of life we are in death’.  Our season concludes with high drama in the form of that most tragic tale of a Carthaginian queen as we present a concert version of Dido and Aeneas.    

All our concerts are performed in the glorious surroundings of St Michael le Belfrey a historic church which is right in the heart of York beside York Minster.  

Link to our 2014/15 concert brochure: http://bit.ly/1s8Hrde

Details of concert 1 November 2014: http://bit.ly/1tw6qma

YBC Concert reminder service: http://bit.ly/1nbRxIJ

Contact details:
Twitter: @YorksBachChoir  
Facebook: Yorkshire Bach Choir
Email: marketing@yorkshirebachchoir.org